USC coach Lane Kiffin announced Thursday that Max Wittek will start the Sun Bowl for the Trojans, thus ending the college career of quarterback Matt Barkley.

Kiffin told reporters that Barkley was disappointed, but the decision was made by the team doctors.

Barkley sustained a shoulder injury near the end of the game against UCLA and left the stadium in a sling. He now turns his attention to preparing for the NFL. Barkley will have a series of private team workouts and has the NFL combine coming up as well.

Had he re-injured the shoulder, or showed rustiness after sitting out the past few weeks, it could have severely hurt his draft status.

Barkley completed 63.6 percent of his passes this season for 3,273 yards and 36 touchdowns, with a career-worst 15 interceptions.

The USC quarterback confirmed the news on his Twitter account.

Doctors haven’t cleared me to play, so I won’t be suiting up on Saturday. I’ll be here with my team to finish strong. Proud to be a Trojan!